Sunday 17 November 2013

Goodness me - final part

All went well overnight. I got up first, checked on DB, took his BP whilst still in bed, a little higher than of late, but okay. This is what he looked like in the morning:

Insisted he took his time sitting for a while, before standing and moving. Still fine. He came into the kitchen, we made our breakfast and carried it through. Both his drink and porridge were off to one side, luckily! I noticed him giving his hands a shake and said "Are you okay, have your hands gone tingly?"

No reply. Paid more attention to him and he had collapsed again. Luckily he was sitting down and as I couldn't move him to lay him down, grabbed the BP machine and took a reading - 57/32 Pulse 90. It was clear his heart was trying to get blood up to the old brain but I couldn't lie him down as he was wedged in the corner. Luckily he came to and we managed to just lay him down before he passed out again. BP unreadable as was his pulse... Holy S--T.

ABC was carried out, still breathing, still got a heartbeat and pulse. Inflated BP cuff again, 48/76 pulse 48. Better than zero, colour returning but still not great.

I was just about to phone for an ambulance when he came to, not in the least bit groggy and said "Hello, did I go again?" Told him to stay put. He didn't want an ambulance as he was pinking up nicely and BP and pulse had returned to normal. Didn't want his breakfast but had a cup of tea.

If it had been a dire emergency, he would have had no say in the matter and I would have called an ambulance! Having medical training does help in these situations and if his BP and pulse had not come up, or something else had happened, I would have been on that phone like a shot.

By now, it was nearly 9.00am, so I dressed quickly, told him to lay back down and stay there whilst I went to the doctor's. No good phoning for the first half an hour as you can't get through. Luckily, his doctor had an appointment free in the next hour.

He was still lying there, itching to get up and dressed so he did that with me hovering nearby. Put him in the car and drove to the surgery. Wasn't going to take any chances of collision's with a pavement or worse! GP listened to me whilst I went through it all, then gave him a thorough assessment. Asked if I had recorded his readings.

He said "thank goodness you have also done his pulse as that tells me a lot" and having looked at the printout of his past few month's BP and pulse chart (yep, we do them monthly since he went on blood pressure pills), agreed with the paramedic that his blood pressure tablets needed to be halved, and he had in fact fainted, due to over low blood pressure.

We had thought his BP was getting just a little low and had planned on going to him to have it checked. DB has got to go back after taking the lower dose for a month. We are going to monitor his BP 3 x daily, to see how things go, especially when he is standing. His GP just wants twice daily for the week before we go, sitting or standing, different times of the day. However, if it happens again to go back earlier.

Here endeth the long version of events. He allowed me to tell it just in case anything similar happens to someone you love.

Obviously, your first port of call should/might be an ambulance but after watching 999 what's your emergency, at all the idiotic call-outs, we gave ourselves 10 minutes or so before deciding whether he needed one or not.

The next day I washed his hair and removed the dressing. I shall soak off his steri-strips on Tuesday morning. He had one cut around 1 1/2" or so plus 4 smaller ones that didn't need stitching. The top of his head was slightly numb for a couple of days (must have bashed a nerve) but is fine now.

Want to see what he looks like now?:

Looks like he has gone a couple of rounds in the boxing ring! Bless his heart:)


19 comments:

  1. Glad the problem was diagnosed. The same thing happened to my FIL and then again when they prescribed the same medication all over again! Everyone needs a health partner to keep track of things and help figure out these problems.

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    1. Diagnosed for now anyway. So far so good.

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  2. I would nt have said that calling an ambulance was idiotic this case. It sounds like he should be on a cardiac ward for a thorough going over. Dont do the british thing and not make a fuss.............
    Hope he improves soon and the doctors find out was is happening with him.

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    1. He is doing fine at the moment. BP is higher now than it was which shows the new medication is helping. I never do the British thing. Our doctor and myself speak to each other medically so no problems there. If it happens again, we shall insist on a 24 hour ECG or other tests to see what else, if anything, is going on.

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  3. You are coping brilliantly. I can think of lots of people who would have collapsed in panic. He is fortunate to have you - and your GP sounds a thoroughly good chap too! xx

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  4. Ouch! Just catching up on my blog reading. Good job you are on the ball and did all the right things. Just goes to show that medication if not monitored properly can have adverse effects. I hope everything settles down soon.Take care X

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    1. Angela and Anne - Our doctor is lovely and we get on really well, but I always push for something to be done if I think it needs it!

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  5. I'm so glad you managed to get to see the doc and they've lowered the dosage of his tabs. I recall having low BP when pregnant with my youngest son and how dizzy I got and I wasn't even on medication. That eye injury looks nasty, lets hope the bruising fades quickly. Well done to you for coping so well in what must have been a very scary situation.

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  6. Medical background or not (I also have a med. background) stuff like this still scares the CRAP out of you. It's different when it's 'one of your own'. Hopefully the BP will stabilize and no more 'stop, drop and bash your head' episodes.

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    1. Helen and Janice - thank you. You are right, not so nice when you can't distance yourself. So far so good although his BP was quite low after a short walk yesterday.

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  7. So glad you have sorted this for now - hopefully ongoing monitoring will sort it out longer term
    xxx

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  8. Goodness, what nerve racking few days for you! You did fantastically well, considering the situations you were thrown into. Lovely hubby is a very lucky fellow to have such a competent wife! His fall and knock of head could have been much worse without proper treatment. I wish him well and hope he can recover very soon.

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    1. Compostwoman and Sarina - I must admit I was worried about brain damage such was the force he landed with. Thank you for your kind comments.

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  9. You have certainly had some shocks - you sound remarkably cool and collected even if you are not feeling calm! I hope this has been finally sorted out and you both have no more frights.

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    1. Standing BP still a little low, particularly after walks so not going very far. Hopefully, the reduced pill will work in lifting his BP a little, if not, back to the doctor's. It is the when or what if that is most challenging, wondering if it will happen whilst we are out somewhere! Hope your sinus problem and face will soon be sorted out.

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  10. I do hope things are getting sorted now DC and that he gets the necessary treatment and medication. It must have been a very worrying time for you both. Take care.
    Patricia x

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  11. GP has halved his main BP pill and most of the time, his BP is a little higher than it was although it still drops occasionally. Just keeping our fingers crossed. I am not allowing him to drive at the moment just in case. Steri-strips off tomorrow (if I can get them off!)

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  12. Oh goodness! I'm only just trying to catch up a little. Good job you were on the scene, calm and controlled. Sensible to keep all the readings and for the doctor to halve medication. Hope he's soon feeling much better.
    Sending very best wishes to you both.
    Rose H
    xx

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    1. Thank you Rose, he is feeling better than before. We had our first short walk the other day and he was okay but nervous - which is understandable. Big walk tomorrow so that should let us know how he really is.

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